The Ray Mhlaba Skills Training Centre is a vocational skills development organisation focusing on the skills and social upliftment of underprivileged youth. It provides vocational skills and social development programmes in Woodwork and Upholstery, Hospitality, Bakery, Sewing and Crafts, Hairdressing, Early Childhood Development and HIV and Palliative Care.

The target beneficiaries are 85% Black youth aged 18 to 25 who are unemployed and have no financial means of furthering their education. There is a strong focus on empowering women to enter into the formal employment sector or become entrepreneurs, and so women make up over 50% of entrants into skills-development programs.

To date, in its 11th year of operation, the Centre has trained 1185 students successfully across its vocational training programs, 82% of whom have gained formal employment or are earning a reliable income as entrepreneurs.

The Distell Development Trust’s involvement is in the Sewing and Crafts, Hospitality, and Woodwork and Upholstery programmes.